Page 15 of Absolution

“No, thank you. Why don’t you sit.” He gestured to the sofa like he was the host trying to make his guest comfortable.

I raised a brow at his presumptuousness but took a seat anyway.

“What do you want?” I asked again.

The silence was heavy for several seconds.

“It’s Gideon calling you with the warnings isn’t it? The person who’s getting out of prison soon? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I heard the hurt in his question. The petty side of me teemed with satisfaction. I’d been hurting in one way or another for almost thirteen years. It was about time Leo experienced even a fraction of what I’d been going through all this time.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I played dumb.

“Don’t. Don’t do that. Not with this. Please.” He actually begged.

I rose from the couch and stared out the window, unable to take the pain I saw in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around my middle to ward off the sudden chill.

“I didn’t tell you because there was no reason to. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Not anymore. Regardless of the past, we’re not friends, Leo. We’re not buddies or pals or confidantes. We’re nothing.”

He’d left me behind. In hell.

“Leo, wait for me,” I called out as my legs churned as fast as they could trying to catch up with his long-legged stride.

He turned quickly, his gaze frantically scanning the street. He darted forward and grabbed my arms when I collided with him.

“Gina, you need to get out of here,” he growled. “Now.”

I reared back at his anger. He’d never spoken so harshly to me before.

“You said you’d take me to get pizza,” I whispered.

He shook me a little. “I told you later.”

“Who’s the stray, Lion?”

Leo went rigid, and ever so slowly, he straightened to his impressive height. At a few months shy of eighteen, he towered over most adults. His grip on me loosened, and he turned to face the man stepping out of a doorway of the boarded-up building just behind where we stood. I moved closer to Leo and pressed against his back, peeking around him to see two men follow behind the first, all with a dangerous glint in their eyes.

“She’s no one. Just some kid.”

The men wore faded blue jeans, white tank tops, blue bandanas tied around their foreheads, and lots of gold chains. Quintessential street gang. The one in front, who appeared to be the leader, had a wicked scar bisecting his right cheek. I couldn’t take my eyes off the shiny, white jagged line.

“Then why is she still here?” His expression was menacing and only made more so by the disfigurement.

Leo turned and jerked his head with a sneer. “Beat it, little girl.”

When I hesitated, he gave me a shove. Not hard enough to knock me down, but enough to get my attention. “I said get out of here.”

My thirteen-year old heart broke at his cruelty. I spun around and took off running, swiping at the tears he didn’t deserve.

Shaking off the memory, I turned back around. Leo’s face was expressionless, but his gray eyes were hard as granite.

“I may be nothing to you, but you’re something to me, Gina. It’s obvious you don’t trust me, and maybe you have reason not to. Broken trust is hard to repair, but if you give me a chance, I’ll protect you, like I should have thirteen years ago.”

Chapter 10

Leo

After leaving Gina’s,I’d had Josie send me everything she could find on Gideon, Gina, and the trial. I couldn’t help the tremendous amount of guilt I felt.

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